Panathenaic Stadium


The Panathenaic Stadium was originally built around 330 BC to host the Panathenaic games (similar to the Olympic Games, but different location and to celebrate different Gods — Athena in this case). It was refurbished using marble around 140 AD. It fell into disuse after the rise of Christianity in the 4th century. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. It also held events in the 2004 Athens Olympics. It is the site of the Olympic flame handover ceremony. The Athens Classic Marathon has its finish line in this stadium. The Athens Marathon is based on the legend of Pheidippides, the messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. It was really cool to see this site. It is the only stadium in the world completely made of marble. They were setting up for a concert or something, so we couldn’t run on the track or stand on the finishers podium. But we still ran up the stairs and ran a few stades. Under the stadium was a tunnel to an Olympic history museum with torches from past summer Olympics.


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